Versatile Catalytic Reactions of Norbornadiene Derivatives with Alkynes

Abstract

Abstract Norbornadiene and its derivatives are important synthetic intermediates and useful building blocks in organic synthesis as they can serve as a general template to create highly substituted ring systems with high atom economy. Alkynes have always been one of the most important functional groups in organic chemistry because of their rigidity, electronic properties and numerous methods available for functionalization of the triple bond. The different kinds of reaction between these two classes of compounds, norbornadienes and alkynes, provide useful methods for the synthesis of various important compounds/frameworks, indicating the utility of these reactions in chemical synthesis. Indeed, norbornadienes undergo various reactions with alkynes – alkynylation, ring‐opening, cyclization, cycloaddition, Pauson–Khand and other tandem reactions. This review provides an overview of the achievements in the various reactions between norbornadiene and its derivatives with alkynes. magnified image